In about two weeks will be Christmas.
Do you have any tradition during this festive season?
Are you looking forward to have some time off?
Or are you one of those that have to work through the holiday
and only have a few red days for a break?
Another father of my kids, who is an Italian,
he told me that his German father-in-law
would often visit them during Christmas.
They did not get on very well
because he feels that his father-in-law is too strict.
Everything needs to be right and exact,
needs to be on the dock, so to speak.
So to make his Christmas family gathering
more bearable and entertaining,
my friend would deliberately adjust all the clocks in his house
to be out by one or two minutes
and observe the reaction and expression of his father-in-law.
My friend said his father-in-law would want to do something
to adjust all the clocks back to the exact time,
but since it's not his house,
he cannot do so without asking him for permission.
But being a German father-in-law,
he's not willing to ask an Italian for his permission.
So he just spent the whole time being disturbed.
When you wanted things to go your way,
when you wanted to take control,
but the environment does not allow you to do so,
it must be a very painful experience.
What if you are allowed to take control?
What if you have the full reign?
What would you do with it?
What would you do to make sure you would not lose that control again?
Today we will reflect on King Herod,
a man who also wants everything to go according to how he wants them,
and consider having control as the most important thing.
Today we will see Christmas through his eyes,
and as we prepare for the lead-up to Christmas Day,
we will also take some time to see Christmas through the eyes of the angels,
of Mary, and of Jesus' fathers.
As we reflect on King Herod today,
let us answer three questions.
Who is Herod?
Who is this newborn king?
And who is your king?
Let us pray.
Father, thank you for Jesus.
Thank you for breaking into our world a little bit more than 2,000 years ago,
and provide us with a way to be reunited with you.
As we reflect on the meaning of Christmas through King Herod today
and other characters in the coming weeks,
please help us to also reflect on the true meaning of Christmas to ourselves
and what you have done for us.
Amen.
So who is King Herod?
The birth of Christ, Christmas, was predicted in the Old Testament
and recorded in Matthew and Luke in the New Testament.
The record in Matthew was read out for us just now.
So let's turn to it again in Matthew 2.
It's saying in Matthew 2, verse 1 to 2,
Jesus was born during the time of King Herod.
You will encounter three different Herod.
They are all related,
and today we are talking about Herod the Great,
the very first Herod who made it to be a king
and passed on the position to the other Herod
that you will read in the New Testament.
The Bible has not given us much detail
about the background about this Herod,
but we can rely on historians
and from the time and also archaeology
to know more about him.
Historians told us that Herod the Great
was born an Edomite,
followed the lines of Isaac,
Isaac's oldest son, Esau.
In Genesis, the first book of Old Testament,
we were told that Isaac is the son of Abraham,
and he has two sons, Esau and Jacob.
So those who follow the line of Esau
are Edomite because they live around Edom.
And those who follow the line of Jacob are the Jews,
which live in the land of Judea and Jerusalem.
Herod shared the same ancestors with the Jews,
going back to Abraham and Isaac,
but he is not a Jew.
He is a descendant of Esau and Edomite.
He obtained his position as the king of the Jews,
his relatives,
not by birth,
but through careful political maneuvers,
risking his life at every step
in his dealing with the Romans.
Despite the fact that he was appointed king by the Romans
and was bound to carry out the will of Rome,
Herod wants to set up something great
and pass on his achievements and inheritance to his children.
He wants an empire that will last a long time.
However, at the same time,
he wants only to pass on his empire
at the time that he feels,
that is,
feeding his schedule and his plan.
So he murdered whoever might challenge his place on the throne,
including his wife
and several of his sons and other relatives.
Reflecting on Herod,
wanting to control the destiny of his own life,
I thought about someone that was in China
around 247 BC.
He became the emperor of the Qing dynasty.
His title was Qin Qi Wang.
Qin is the name of the dynasty.
Qi is the very first of the founder.
Wang means emperor.
So Qin Qi Wang means the very first emperor of China.
He was called by that title
because he was the very first emperor of a unified China.
All the dynasty that come after him
inherited unified China
and able to expand China
based on what Qin Qi Wang has done.
He did a lot of things
that we still talk about today,
such as connecting all the sessions
of the defensive war around the 200 BC,
which become the Great War of China.
And 2,200 years later,
we still talk about it
and the Great War is still standing
as one of the wonders of the world.
He was on a quest to find medicine
that can grant him eternal life.
But after all the attempts at Pharaoh,
he had a few big tombs dug out
and filled them with clay or terracotta warriors,
horses and chariots,
in order that they would give him the protection
and extend his reign after death.
Something that both Herod and Qin Qi Wang
had in common
are the great building projects.
Qin Qi Wang connected the Great War
and built tombs.
Herod was known to have built
the port of Caesarea,
restored the temple in Jerusalem,
and built many theaters, cities,
palaces, and fortresses.
They both done so much
to set up for themselves a legacy
that they hoped will last for a long time.
They both want to be in control.
But as you and me both know,
things in life never go according to plan.
Have you ever planned to achieve
some great things,
make accurate effort,
with huge sacrifice to get there,
and have the pin pulled from under you?
You walk carefully,
like treading on thin ice,
and someone jumped in
and cracked everything.
The question posed by the Magi in verse 2,
where is the one who has been born
king of the Jews,
was such a stern reminder to Herod
that despite all that he has done,
all that he is doing,
despite all that he has achieved,
he is not really the king of the Jews.
He is not even born a Jew.
He is the half-blooded king,
if I may steal the title
from a Harry Potter fan.
So 1st Street told us that
when King Herod heard this,
he was disturbed,
and all Jerusalem with him.
This could be one of the understatements
in the Bible.
It's like saying Jesus was hungry
after fast for 40 days and 40 nights.
If you put yourself in Herod's shoes,
disturbed seems to be not very accurate
or sufficient to describe how I would feel
responding to that news.
A new king that is not under my control has born,
and has a right to be the king of the empire
that I am building by birth.
And he has that right by birth.
Being disturbed is such an understatement.
And I believe all Jerusalem was disturbed too
because they know what kind of person Herod is,
what he will do to eliminate any threat to his thong.
Herod was disturbed about the news of someone
who may threaten his thong,
and he may also be disturbed
because he doesn't know where he is born.
So in verse 4 to 5,
he called together all the people's chief priests
and teachers of the law
to find out where the Messiah was to be born.
It's interesting that Herod seems to know
of the coming of the Messiah,
who is the rightful king of the Jews,
but he had done everything
as if this Messiah would never come,
that he can keep controlling
as a half-blooded king,
a pretender to the thong.
When they worked out
where about the newborn king should be,
in verse 7 to 8, it read,
Herod called the Magi secretly
and found out from them
the exact time the stars have appeared.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
Go and search carefully for the child.
As soon as you find him,
report to me,
so I too may go and worship him.
With what we just found out about Herod,
it's so obvious that he's not going to go
and worship the child Jesus.
If you are Herod,
what do you think are the justifiable actions
to take towards this newborn king of the Jews?
This new threat to what you want to establish
for yourself and your family?
How far would you go
to protect what you have worked hard to set up
before your life?
Verse 16 told us that
when Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi,
he was furious
and he gave order to kill all the boys in Bethlehem
and his vicinity
who were two years old and under,
according to the time he had learned from the Magi.
Herod killed all the boys in Bethlehem
and his vicinity
who were two years old and under
to protect his control
and lordship of the empire he is building.
To him,
there is a justifiable action to take.
He had dealt with any threat to his throne
in the same way all along,
even to kill his wife and murder his sons.
He wanted to hold on to whatever control he can exercise
to ensure his plans of building his empire.
Succeeds.
In Chen Qi Wong,
quest to ensure his dynasty and Jews forever
and to decide who remind his sons
are more suitable to carry on his legacy.
He let his sons fight each other.
In his quest for eternal life,
he become very suspicious
and his heart-like control of his dynasty
drew many opposition.
In response to Chen Qi Wong,
he burned all the books and literature
that is not in line with the policy
that he wants to enforce
and murder any scholar
that dare to speak up against him
by burying them alive
to drown them out.
The forced labor he put in place
to connect up the Great Wall
caused many men to be separated from their family.
Husbands are taken away from their wife.
Children become fatherless.
One of the famous Chinese folk stories says that
a wife so desperate to find her husband,
she searched along the Great Wall every day
and weeping and crying,
and her cry cracked the wall.
We read today
the weeping and great mourning
that was predicted,
mentioned in verse 18,
of those who had lost their children
in Bethlehem and its vicinity
is not the greatest concern of Herod.
They were just one of his necessary casualties.
Have you met someone
or known of anyone like Herod?
Someone who is so determined
to achieve what they have set up to do
or to protect their ownership
of things that they want to hold on to.
They are willing to sacrifice others to get there.
Verse 19 told us that
are universal threats
that everyone needs to face.
No matter how hard you try,
no matter how powerful you become,
Chen Chi Wang tried and failed.
Same goes to Herod and all of us.
They say Herod died.
We all have to face the fact
that we will be dead one day.
Herod died searching
for the newborn king
for the wrong reason.
He wants to find him to kill him.
You can live life,
you can live life like a king
in your life now,
but without meeting a true king,
you will only die disturbed
and searching like Herod.
Herod questioned the people's chief priests
and teachers of the law
so that he knows of the Messiah,
but he did not really know who he is
and where to find him.
When he found out where to find him,
when the opportunity presented for him
to meet the Messiah,
he was too busy building his empire.
He rejected and ignored the chance
for him to meet the one
that can give him eternal life,
the one that can ensure his achievement
that really lasts to eternity.
Instead of taking up the opportunity
to meet the real king of his life,
he killed off the only chance
he could have to meet the Messiah.
So who is this newborn king?
Who is this Messiah?
Let's now look at this second question,
who is this newborn king,
by going back to verse 5.
Verse 5 told us that the Messiah
was to be born in Bethlehem in Judea.
And for this is what the prophet was written.
If we read on in verse 6,
But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah.
For all of you will become a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.
Messiah is a special Hebrew term in the Bible.
In Greek, it is Christ.
Both means the anointed one, the king.
Judea or the land of Judah is today
what we call Palestine.
And Bethlehem, this city,
the name of that city actually means house of bread.
So this is where the bread of life,
referred to in John 6, 48, come to earth.
From this city to town,
a ruler will come to shepherd God's people.
If you turn back with me to Matthew chapter 1,
in verse 1 to 18,
it says,
this is how the birth of Christ,
Jesus, the Messiah, come about.
Jesus is the Messiah,
a ruler who shepherds God's people.
So what do you think of when you hear the term ruler?
Do you think of someone high above you,
very distant,
a privilege with absolute power,
something like Queen Elizabeth of England,
or Donald Trump,
or President Kim of the North Korea?
Jesus is not that kind of ruler.
Reading on in Matthew 1,
verse 20 to 21,
when an angel appeared to Joseph
to encourage him about the son he is going to have,
he said,
Joseph, son of David,
you are to give him the name Jesus
because he will save his people from their sins.
When Jesus was born,
the Old Testament had already been translated
from Hebrew to Greek,
and Greek is a common language at the time.
Theologian Warren Wisby said that
the name Jesus means Savior
and comes from the Hebrew's name Joshua,
which also means Savior saves.
Another theologian, Michael Horton, said,
although the origin of the name Jesus
is not very certain,
the consensus is that
it derives from the root to save.
Jesus' name is descriptive
of his relationship to his people
in faithfulness and mercy.
His mission is already embedded
in his personal identity.
Jesus is the Messiah,
the king who will save his people
from their sins.
Jesus is a king
that was not born
into a life of privilege
or political power.
When he was born,
his own race
was under the authority of Rome.
His birthplace
was a place of occupied land
governed by Herod,
a pretender
half-blooded king.
And in verse 22-23,
all this took place
to fulfill what the Lord
had said
through the prophet.
The virgin will conceive
and give birth to a son
and they will call him Emmanuel,
which means
God with us.
So Jesus is God with us
to save us.
Have you ever looked at Jesus
from that perspective?
Jesus is God
and he comes
to be with us
to save us.
Who is Jesus to you?
Reading on from Matthew 2,
verse 13,
When they, the Magi,
have gone,
an angel of the Lord
appealed to Joseph
in a dream.
Get up, he said.
Take the child
and his mother
and escape to Egypt.
Stay there
until I tell you,
for Herod is going
to search for the child
to kill him.
So he got up,
took the child
and his mother
during the night
and left for Egypt,
where he stayed
until the death of Herod.
And so was fulfilled
with the Lord,
what the Lord
has said
through the prophet,
Out of Egypt
I call my son.
Jesus is about
to save us
because,
sorry,
Jesus is able
to save us
because he is
100% human,
born of Mary,
and he is also
100% God.
He is God
the Son.
It's not just
another character
of a story
that was told
once upon a time.
Because Jesus
is truly human
and truly God,
he can save us
from our sins
by being our substitution
to pay the penalty
of our sins.
He knows
what it means
to be displaced
because he had
to spend his childhood
in a foreign country
with his family
to preserve his life
for the right moment
to fulfill
the ultimate substitution
on the cross.
He breaks through
all stereotypes
of what we think
a king is.
He breaches
the gap
of all cultures
to bring salvation
to everyone.
Jesus was born
king of the Jews
who lived in a life
in a time
under cultural influence
of the Greek
and the political influence
of Romans
and spent his childhood
in Egypt.
Is this the Jesus
that you know?
And in verse 19 to 23,
when those who were trying
to take the child's life
are dead,
his whole family
withdrew to the district
of Galilee
and he went and lived
in a town called Nazareth.
So it was fulfilled
what was said
through the prophet
that he would be called
an Assyrian.
Jesus' life
from birth to death
was predicted
by himself
through the prophet.
Every step of Jesus' life
was lived out
as fulfillment
to what he said
in the Old Testament.
In the first two chapters
of Matthew,
we have only looked
at the first few years
of Jesus' life.
The faith
fulfilled what the Lord
has said
through the prophet
already appeared
about six times.
The Old Testament
of the Bible
is God's redemptive plan
being told
and the New Testament
is a fulfillment
of that plan
through the life,
death,
and resurrection
of Jesus.
The birth of Christ,
Christmas,
is the beginning
of the unfolding
of God's grace-saving act
of mercy towards us.
Jesus is not
a king that born
and grew up
in a palace
with privilege
that does not know
his people.
Jesus was born
and grew up
in a humbly circumstance
in an occupied land
as an exile.
The newborn king
is Jesus,
the Messiah,
the one who saved us
from our sins
because he is
the only one
that had lived
a perfect obedience
life according
to every letters
of God's word.
No human
is able to do so
because we do not
have the nature
of God.
The Son of God,
Jesus,
who is God,
the Son,
had died
and resurrected
to make way
for us
to be united
with God.
Is that the Jesus
that you know?
Have you been
seeing Jesus
from that perspective?
Do you honor Jesus
as a king
as he deserves
to be honored?
Have you let Jesus
take control
of your life
as a king
that he should?
We have looked at
who Herod is
and who is
this newborn king.
Now let's look
at the last question
that I want us
to reflect on today.
Who is your king?
With Christmas
just only a couple
of weeks away,
what has been
occupying you
and your mind?
Is it about
how many days
you will have
for holiday?
What you can do
and where you can go?
Is it about
how you are going
to fit all the gatherings
of works and families
in between those days?
Is it about
how to make
those gatherings
more bearable
like my friend
did to his German
family-in-law?
Is it about
what kind of gifts
you should get
for your friends
or what kind of gifts
you are hoping to get?
During the very first Christmas,
the Magi was very busy.
They were busy
looking for the child Jesus.
They found him
by the help of God.
Let's read
from chapter 2,
verse 9.
It said,
After they had heard
the king,
they went on their way
and the stars
they had seen
when it rose
went ahead of them
until it stopped
over the place
where the child was.
When they saw the star,
they were overjoyed.
On coming to the house,
they saw the child
with his mother Mary.
They bowed down
and worshipped him.
Then they opened
their treasures
and presented him
with gifts of gold,
Frankenstein's and myrrh.
The star sent by God
led the Magi
to the child king.
And when the Magi
see the newborn king
of the Jews,
they were overjoyed
and they came
fully prepared
to see him.
They were ready
to bow down
and worship him
as king,
offer up their treasure
and present Jesus
with gifts.
They treat Jesus
as their king
even though
they are not Jews.
They were well-educated
wise men
willing to travel
a long distance
to submit themselves
to the newborn king
of the Jews.
Are you ready
to face Jesus?
Are you ready
to face your king?
What gifts
have you prepared
to offer to him?
What treasure
have you bought
for him?
Have you ever
prepared something
as a gift
and to find out
that it's not suitable
or not exactly
what the other person
would like to have?
What did you do
to avoid
that embarrassment
and headache again?
I think the best way
is to get to know
the other person
very well
and even ask them
directly.
So do you know
your king?
Do you know
where to find him?
King Herod
was cruelest
of Jesus'
whereabouts
and what
did he do?
He asked someone
that should know.
If you're not sure
where to find Jesus
and who Jesus is,
the Bible
and someone
who knows the Bible
is the best place
for you to start.
So please speak
with anyone
in the red vest
or write your question
about Jesus
in the card
in front of you
and we will contact you
to help you
look for Jesus.
So in that way,
as you search for Jesus,
you'll be able to find out
what he wants from you.
So when you find him,
you're ready to bow down
and worship him
and offer up
your treasured gifts.
We should learn
from Herod
asking other to help
to learn about
where Jesus is
and what we should learn
and we also should learn
from the Magi
putting in the action
to find the real king.
Herod was given
a chance
to meet the real king
of the Jews
but instead of going
to meet him,
he sent someone
to do it.
Even the religious people
at the time
who can tell Herod
where Jesus is
did not go
to meet the king
but the Magi went
and they got
to see the child king
and pay their respect
and honor
but Herod did not
because he was not
sincere and authentic
in his searching.
He said he wants
to worship Jesus
but his actions
say something else.
His mind
was preoccupied
with other things
with the worry
of losing
the control
of his
pretended kingdom.
His mind
was preoccupied
with what to do
to eliminate
any new threat
to his control.
He's not willing
to hand over
his kingship yet.
What are you not
like in terms
of holding on
to things
that you do not
want to let go?
What are you like
in terms of
being disturbed
and distracted?
How sincere
and authentic
in your worship
of Jesus
our Savior
and Messiah.
Jesus started
his ministry
in going from
town to town
to teach people
about the kingdom
of God
after he turned
30 years old.
In Luke 10
it tells us
that Martha
opened her home
to Jesus
and his disciples
to do their teaching.
As soon as
he entered the house
Martha's
sister Mary
sat at the Lord's feet
and listened
to what he had to say.
But Martha
was distracted
by all the preparation
that had to be done.
And she complained
to Jesus
and wanted Jesus
to tell her
sister Mary
to stop sitting
on her bedside
and get up
and help her.
And this is what
Jesus said to her.
Martha,
you are worried
and upset
about many things
but few things
are needed
or indeed
only one.
Mary has chosen
what is better
and it will not
be taken away
from her.
Jesus
deserves
our full attention
and his message
is worth
for us
to drop
everything
to listen to.
He is the only
one thing
that is needed
for life.
Is that who
Jesus to you?
With all that
need to be prepared
for the first
season,
it is easy
to forget
the most
important things.
The only one
thing that is
needed
is to be
at Jesus'
feet.
The best
gift you can
get for your
family and
friend
is to tell
them about
Jesus.
However,
with the demand
of life on us
from family
and work,
we are often
worried and upset
about many things.
Do you feel
like being
snowed under
all the time?
Don't be
like Martha
who gets
worried and
upset about
many things.
Be like
Mary
who chooses
to be at
the feet
of Jesus
to hear
what he
has to say.
Jesus'
teaching is
the only
one thing
that is
needed.
Jesus is
the only
one who
born to
save.
The newborn
king comes
to be ruler
who shepherds
God's people.
If you are
God's people,
Jesus is
your shepherd
and he
will lead
you to
the right
place to
meet your
needs.
Do you
believe that
he will
look after
you much
better than
what you
try to
plan to
do?
If you
believe he
will,
follow him.
Don't
wander around
like a
sheep.
Don't
just follow
the herd.
Make sure
you are
following the
shepherd.
Listen to
his voice
from the
Bible and
you will
not go
astray.
If you
have been
a regular
member of
St.
Paul's,
what time
did you
get here
today?
Have you
signed up
to join
a community
group?
And what
time did
you arrive
in the
last group
meeting?
Why are
you here?
Why are
you here
just to
clock in,
to make
yourself feel
good about
yourself,
to take
off what
you think
is the
requirement of
being a
Christian?
Are you
here to
truly treasure
Jesus together
with us in
bringing glory
to God and
joy to
others?
Is Jesus
truly your
King?
What effort
are you making
to be on
time at
church and
your gathering
with your
brothers and
sisters?
What
arrangement
have you
made so
that you
can stay
behind to
fellowship and
be part of
God's family
on Sunday?
Are you
always arriving
after the
singing worship
finished or
rushing off to
your lunchtime
appointment with
your friends?
Are you
here today to
worship Jesus?
Do you
worship Jesus
and getting to
know him more
and more every
day of the
week?
In your
day-to-day
life, is
Jesus the
true king of
your life?
Or does
your day-to-day
life show that
you have rejected
him and even
tried to kill
him because he
is threatening
the kingship and
control of your
life?
Have you
welcomed the
newborn king
with joy like
the Magi?
Or are you
protecting the
lordship of
your life in
your own
palace like
King Herod?
How far
would you
go to ensure
your career
goes according
to your plan?
How far
would you
go to ensure
you get what
you want for
your life and
your family?
Do you
truly believe
Jesus will
look after
you because
he is your
shepherd?
A writer and
theologian
Kim Keller
said there
is a little
herod in
all of us.
We are in
many ways just
like Herod when
we feel that the
control of our
life is being
threatened by
any outside
force.
We will do
whatever we
can to hold
on to that
control and
we are not
willing to let
someone else
to be king
of our life.
Is Jesus the
Messiah, the
king of your
life?
Are you
ready to
see your
Savior Christ?
Or are you
too busy and
distracted, worried
and upset about
many things?
Just as Jesus
said to Martha,
the only one
thing that is
needed, the
thing that once
we have chosen
will not be
taken from us,
is sitting at
Jesus' feet with
attentive ears and
listen to the
fulfillments and
wonders that he
unfolds by his
life.
He's
uta
to
mouth
to
�
Board
video
Mondi
in
one
have
earned
gracious
daughter
CON
karş
remembered
how
he
Damit
to
his
walls
and
peace
in